This invention generally relates to the field of particle collection and transfer. The invention provides a method and apparatus for collecting a quantity of particles from a liquid, such as cells from a biological sample, and transferring the particles onto a glass slide or other viewing screen. The invention is useful in cytology, which is a medical and laboratory science that makes diagnoses based on examination of cells.
More particularly, this invention relates to specimen processor that operates with a cartridge-like transport or holder. The processor operates with the holder to collect a quantified clinical specimen from sample material carried with the holder, and to transfer the specimen to a viewing screen, also carried with the holder.
The specimen processor apparatus and method of the invention are advantageously used, in at least one instance, in the clinical laboratory processing of a biological sample. More particularly, they are used in clinical laboratory processing in which cellular particles are collected from a liquid suspension of the sample and transferred to a microscope slide for examination, either electro-optically or by human viewing. The cellular particles are, as is advantageous, applied to the slide with essentially a monolayer and uniform distribution.
The term "cellular particle" is used herein to encompass cells, cell fragments and clusters or groupings of cells and/or cell fragments.
Clinical laboratory diagnostic testing with a monolayer distribution of cellular particles on a microscope slide, and apparatus and methods for performing such testing of the type with which the invention is advantageously practiced, are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,627; in co-pending U.S. application for patent Ser. No. 843,571; and in the commonly assigned and concurrently filed application entitled "Clinical Cartridge Apparatus". The disclosures of these documents are incorporated herein by this reference.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,627 describes an instrument for collecting a quantitatively measured number of biological cellular particles from suspension in a liquid sample and for transferring the counted collected particles, with an essentially monolayer and uniform distribution, to a viewing screen, typically a microscope slide. The instrument has disposable elements and containers that contact the sample material and accordingly that require replacement between the processing of successive samples, to avoid inter-sample contamination.